Description

Assessing entrepreneurship of Pakistani community and the factors
of success
By
Nadir I. Alvi
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Masters in Business Administration
University of Hertfordshire
2008
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Abstract
Ethnic minority entrepreneurs are contributing significantly in the economic
development in the UK. The studies (Barrett et al., 2001; Bank of England, 1999;
Waldinger et al., 1990) have shown that the ratio of ethnic minorities is comparatively
higher than the other start-up entrepreneurs in the UK. However, migrant entrepreneurs
have been neglected by economic researchers (Williams et al., 2004). Keeble (1989).
Among these entrepreneurs, Pakistani communities are also very active in the
entrepreneurship activities especially in cloth trade as Pakistan produces about 10
percent of the world cotton crop making it the fourth largest producer in the world. The
textile industry currently accounts for almost 65% of Pakistan's exports, 20% of valueadded
production and employs 40% of manufacturing labor (Khan & Ghani, 2004).
However, these entrepreneurs face many obstacles and barriers in the UK due to
cultural and economical differences. The researcher aimed to analyze and explore
these barriers and obstacles especially focusing on the marketing strategies of the
Pakistani entrepreneurs doing cloth trading in the UK. For this purpose, the researcher
utilized qualitative research method in order to collect primary data through
questionnaire based surveys among 50 Pakistani entrepreneurs and the follow up
interviews with 5 of the participants to record their views about obstacles and their
marketing strategies to overcome these obstacles. The result of the primary research
coupled with the review of the literature has shown that ethnic minorities in the UK face
racial discrimination to some extent, lack of good knowledge of language hinder their
effective communication with the customers and the lack of funds through bank loans
negatively impact their performance.
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Table of Contents
1.1Introductio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2Problem Statemen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4Objectives of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.5 Structure of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.6 Definition of Key terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter II: Review of the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Theoretical framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .